Yesterday we had the honor and privilege of meeting up with the local American Legion Post to put out flags on tombstones for Memorial Day. Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts from our county were invited to come help with this task. This is the first year that Girl Scouts were invited so we were sure to make time to attend this event.
If you have been around here for awhile you may already know that Brian is a U.S. Army Veteran and served during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Ten years ago today, Brian was in Iraq. I went to spend the weekend with my family since I couldn’t stand to be alone during the holiday. I remember trying to hold back tears the whole weekend. I prayed for my solider to return. I prayed for my solider to return uninjured. I knew it wasn’t up to my prayers though but that was my comfort ten years ago.
I was blessed to have my solider return home. We were blessed that he came home with both legs, both arms, and no enemy fire wounds. We did not expect the years of recovery from back and knee injuries that we still deal with now. We did not expect the challenges that dealing with PTSD brings to not only the solider but the solider’s family. But we are blessed. We are very blessed.
We are so blessed that we make sure that the kids don’t think Memorial Day is National Barbecue Day. We are so blessed that we make sure that the kids don’t think Memorial Day is a day off school and off work for sales at stores. We are so blessed that our kids (6, 5, and 3 years old) are realizing that men and women give up their lives to keep us safe and free.
You are blessed too aren’t you? Remember to take a time to reflect why we are celebrating Memorial Day this weekend. Then go share that reflection with your family or your kids or someone on Facebook or somewhere else so that we can all remember to be thankful on this Memorial Day for how blessed we all are.
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